Methods of electronically raster scanning images, processing the electronic signal, and reproducing the image in a printing device, have been known for a long time. In EP 0,308,967 A2, for example, a device is described in which images which have been stored optically on photographic film are optoelectronically scanned with a camera, and the resulting image signals are subjected to an electronic image-processing process. In this electronic image-processing scheme, each of the scanned images is collected in a memory until all of the images on the particular photographic film to be scanned have been completely stored. To do this, the film is transported across both a scan aperture and a print framing aperture in which the images are photographed by the color camera in the one case, and are printed directly to photographic material in the other. After all of the images have been scanned and printed in this way, the electronically generated overview print, with all of the images contained on the film, is exposed onto the photographic material, jointly in a single process, by means of a cathode-ray tube device. Such overview prints which belong together in one photographic job are known as index prints. EP 0,629,908 A2 also describes a system producing index prints in the above-described manner. In this system as well, each of the originals is first reproduced optically onto a print material, the originals are scanned optoelectronically, and the electronically generated overview print is later exposed onto a print material.
In DE 36 28 917 A1, a system is also described in which images from a color film are scanned with a video camera. In this case, the images are provided with additional information in a picture composition section, and are then exposed onto photographic material by means of a cathode-ray tube exposing unit. In this system, pictures which are made up of a composite of several originals from the color film are not provided. In the picture composition section, lettering and symbols are added only for documentation purposes.